Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. — Mary Anne Radmacher
Oh boy, can you say Intention Derailment? I feel like I am living on the edge.
Stuck on that dammed edge, wishing like hell that I could go back to last years word… to pick it up and wrap it around me because I really need something familiar right now. Something easy.
And then I read this:
Whenever something bad happens, keep calm, take a few deep breaths and shift the focus to something positive. — Roy T. Bennett
Yep, that is where I am right now… trying to stay calm, trying to breathe, and unsuccessfully seeking anything positive.
If this was all just about me only…I think I’d be fine with little or no hiccups in my day. But every day there seems to be some new thing to be concerned about for those I love (specifically my kids) and, honestly, it is damned hard to “put on a happy face” or find something positive.
But I have discovered that even small breaths are good. And faking calm works in a pinch – or at least for the duration of a phone call, then all bets are off.
And silent tears sometimes are the most positive thing in a day.
And that is all I’ve got.
Now, please go visit Honoré and see what everyone else has!
It was a wild weekend here in the Burgh! Crazy winds brought insane storms over the weekend, but the temps in the 70’s were awesome!
Steve is not working on Friday’s these days as his office is closed, but the power went out so all the pc’s turned off so no one could remote in which meant he did have drive in at a time which used to be peak rush hour traffic. On Friday however, there were less cars on the road then there is at 5am when he normally drives in. Eerie.
We did make a visit to our local TJ’s on Friday as well. We stood in line roughly 30 minutes… the sidewalk was well marked and the people in line were lovely
Photo courtesy of @stevofc who does not understand the concept of landscape photos….
Friday there was a typical happy hour with French Manhattans… they were so good!
Cognac, orange liquor, sweet vermouth, orange bitters, and a cherry.
No one takes better photos of the Pittsburgh area than Dave DiCello… but his lightning photos are just crazy.
Spending this rainy, stormy evening listening to everyone’s favorite neighbor and capturing some incredible slo-mo lightning above #Pittsburgh. Don’t worry, Mr. Rogers and I are observing the required 6+ feet of social distancing.
More lightning from last night’s storms in #Pittsburgh. The reason I’m posting this one by itself and not with the 3 others in the thread is because it really stands out with the fog on the river. The lightning ‘reaching’ towards the city with glowing fog on the water was surreal pic.twitter.com/GThrXypqlf
Sunday meant sock knitting and Negroni’s. (I don’t know if it is just me… but are you all drinking more these days?)
Working through clue two!
Then the sun came out and dried up much of the rain, so I could drag Steve out for a “forced photo shoot” (which he hates so much, lol) But anyways, here is my finished and MUCH loved Nightshift! It is HUGE and it is perfect! I only pinned the edges so they laid flat with really no stretching at all and it is so generously sized! I love it so much I **almost** wish for the tiniest sliver of cold weather to wear it a time or two…
There you have my weekend…I hope you managed to find some bright spots in yours! It seems unreal, but I will be back tomorrow with an update on my word!
You cannot see the wood for the trees. — John Heywood
This week brought increased worry for both the rapidly increasing numbers of the sick as well as all those who are caring for them. The stories don’t sound like something from a first-world country, but rather they sound like the horror stories from a war zone or a third-world country that you might vaguely notice in the news.
I read this post yesterday and it really made a huge impact on me. Gratitude + Perspective is my new focus. Less complaining. Less rose-colored glasses views. Less meaningless lists. Less foolishly looking back at unimportant things with misplaced longing.
But, it’s not all less…because there is so much more! More heartfelt conversations with loved ones. More prayers for the sick and those caring for them. More gratitude that I have a home to shelter in and that I can easily communicate with my children. More gratitude that my library is serving the community mightily from a distance. More gratitude that I have no lack of projects to work on. More gratitude that I have an abundance of food. And, finally… more gratitude in just staying home!
Thank you, Carolyn for helping me adjust my perspective!
I do have some “lighter” things to share… things to, you know, STAY HOME and do!
I have finished my Nightshift and I am so smitten!! My ending was a bit sketchy but, I like how it turned out and I used up so much of my handspun yarn! You can read my pattern notes here where I explain my “recipe” for knitting. My goal was to have this completed before I start any of the “mystery” knits coming up (Yes, I am going to knit both Romi’s Mystery Shawl and the Lunar Phases Mystery! It’s Corona-Mystery-Knitting time because I **also** started a mystery sock on Sunday as well!)
The reading has been a challenge in this topsy turvy world. Focusing has been rather tricky, but at least I had 2 finishes this week!
I do not typically read YA novels but this was the next selection in the Read With Us book club. I grew up in a city that had a very large Hispanic population and growing up I had neighbors/friends that I spent time with. I found Julia’s home to be very typical but her friends…not so much. I found that to be curious and it did not quite ring true (at least to me).
I also did not find it believable that Julia’s parents kept so many secrets about their lives “before they crossed the border.” But, it made me think about how tragic it is to be an undocumented worker, never feeling safe and never being able to travel to see family.
There are some significant gaps in the story line with little explanation of what happened. All in all, I do not recommend this book.
I started this book thinking there must be a book missing between the first book and this one but I could not find one! So suddenly Johanne and Adam are married and have a new baby. How they got there from book one is an unanswered mystery!
Gruesome murders are taking place and you are nicely drawn into the work to solve the crimes. Overall it is fairly fast-paced, although some parts parts drag a bit. BUT!! the ending is brilliant! No spoilers here, but it was genius and I did not see it coming!
That’s all I have this week! If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
Grey skies whose raindrops
Gently caress the new leaves
Teasing them to wake
My daily goal is to seek out something beautiful in the tiny world around me and some days I actually succeed. Today was one of those days! The return of tiny green leaves on the bushes in my yard reminds me that despite the uncertainty of life right now, some things are constant and don’t require any human assistance. I am thankful for these small leaves!
I am also thankful for these smiling faces from yesterday! Thank you to Mary for hosting us again!
However, I did learn that slippery needles make for easy dropped stitches! The sock I was working on is up next for a “do over”! (FYI, Vera!! CoopKnits is hosting a FREE Mystery-Sock-Along! Clue ONE is up here!)
Happy Monday (yes, it is Monday even if it doesn’t feel like it!) Have a great day and stay home, wash your hands, flatten the curve!
Time is the longest distance between two places. — Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie
This quote perfectly describes how the passage of time feels right now. Monday seems like it was eons ago and today does not feel like Friday at all. And topping off the already chaotic week…life changed dramatically last night here in PA. All businesses that are not “life-critical” are now closed…for.the.indefinite.future. Which means Steve is suddenly not working anymore… PLUS My son is calling me multiple times a day to have me talk him down from the ledge, and my heart is breaking that there are so many miles between us because all I want to do is gather him up in my arms like I did when he was little and hold him close. Hard times, so.hard.
Tension-reliever –
This lovely gift arrived in my email this morning and I signed up before you could say Settling the Mind! Thank you, Michelle for this! Please join me… we can settle our minds together and be part of the best commUNITY, even though we are miles apart!
Great finds –
This week there were many!
First, NPR now has a very short new podcast: Coronavirus Daily. I love that I can get an update that is straightforward, no hype, no bs… just a simple update.
I have a friend who recently started her “Magnum Opus” project – a Russian lace shawl with something like 60 pages of charts… Yeah, my thoughts exactly! However, I did come across this beauty, which I think could be classified in that Magnum Opus category!
April 7th a new #100DayProject begins and I have re-assembled my “stitching basket” and will be stitching a bit each day. This time it is a more ‘planned out’ project. I know what I want it to look like…so my inspiration is to take that thought and make it a reality on my fabric!
All.the.FUN –
Last night Mary hosted our first “Long Distance Knitting Group” on Zoom. I was concerned that I would have trouble staying awake…HA! The truth is, I had trouble going to sleep afterwards! Want in on this riotous group? We are planning to meet again this coming Sunday afternoon… watch Mary’s blog for details. We talked, we laughed, we knit… and the joy overflowed! I can tell you that this was the BEST thing I did for my sanity all week… thank you all!
That is all I have for this week… my “forced” forsythias have been a ray of sunshine in this week! (Their outside compatriots are just starting to bloom – so soon, sunshine inside and out!) Have a great weekend, stay well, wash your hands, and keep flattening that curve!
A couple of things are filling my mind today: how can it be Wednesday already in a week that feels like it should be Friday and How are you?
No, really… How are you?
I have a project that is darned near impossible to put down that is filling my day…as well as my lap now! I am entirely smitten with Night Shift – I am following the “recipe” and am changing the background yarn and the “dot yarn” in different sequences – and I am happy with how that is working out! The pattern says I have 4 more repeats to do, but I think I might need to do a couple extra repeats to get a “wear-able size.”
Despite the turmoil of life right now, I am falling asleep soundly moments after getting in bed, and I have finished no books this week!
However, I want to take a minute to talk about a bit of “stash enhancement” of a different sort this week! Necessary Stash Enhancement!! All over the Knitiverse events are being cancelled – events that equate to income for many in our fiber community. Pattern designers, teachers, Yarn dyers, etc. are all feeling the pinch of this downturn in our economy (and by our economy – I mean the economy of our Knitting Community) It’s time for all of us to buy something – a couple of patterns, a skein of yarn, perhaps even an online class!
I read this blog post by Jennifer of Burke House Crafts earlier this week and she has put her patterns on sale for free until the 29th. (you could elect to pay for the pattern rather than taking it for free!)
Then I saw these Tweets from Shannon Okey:
Many designers are offering pattern sales or free patterns right now, and while I would love to, my main source of income (event organizing) has been shut down for an indefinite amount of time. When will we be allowed to work? We don’t know. THAT’S what’s freaking me out, tbh.
It was a quiet St. Paddy’s Day weekend at my house but sadly, the same could not be said about my town!
ST. PATRICK’S DAY POLICE: Pittsburgh Police said they arrested 6 people during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the city and that one Public Works employee was hit by a car. https://t.co/XQUhELPF8l
This article from USAToday was timely….#StayHome should be trending everywhere!
As Coronavirus puts us into uncharted waters, tonight I have joined w 15 health leaders to publish an open letter in @USATODAY with an urgent, lifesaving message:
And, late yesterday the CDC finally got their head out of you know where…
The CDC is now recommending all gatherings of 50+ people be postponed for the next *8 weeks.* These recommendations are not made lightly and apply to your daily routines.
This EXCELLENT WaPo article shows us clearly why strict social distancing is important! FYI, our trajectory has now surpassed the course Italy was on…just saying!
Stay well, stay socially distant, and for heaven’s sake, please stay home!
P.S. One thing you should absolutely do today is search “Italian’s singing on balconies” on YouTube. You will find gems like this.It’s a lovely rabbit hole to spend some time in! (Hint…Be like Italy…STAY HOME!)
The fact that today is Friday the thirteenth is not lost on me as COVID-19 spreads its way around our neighborhoods. This is the first time I can remember that there will be no March Madness…sigh. But, I get it and I am happy that the students were more important that the revenue. The list of other spectator things that have been put on hiatus as well…NBA, NHL, MLB, Broadway shows…heck, even The View is audiance-less!
So if you, like me, are home bound for the next number of days, what’s a body to do?
Ponder no more! Do I have the things for you!
Start off with some MDK March Mayhem! Why, there is even a print out! So if you, like me, will be missing those NCAA brackets… miss.no.more! 64 patterns should be good for a merry afternoon of pondering! Get going (and this year there are SOCKS!!) Why you might even find an item or two that seems like the perfect Quarantine Knit…so.just.cast.on!
Do you have a Netflix/Amazon Prime show that you have been aching for some time to just sit down and binge? Need some suggestions? I have them!
From Netflix: The Bodyguard has just one season, but it is riveting! The Chef’s Table has more than one season and it is just brilliant! Then there’s Criminal… UK, France, and Spain. Start with UK, because David Tennant…
Amazon Prime has oodles of binge-worthy things!
I would start with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel because the costuming is DIVINE, and who doesn’t needs some laughs right now! If you missed Modern Love now is the perfect time to catch up… it is brilliantly done, and the ending is genius! And, for a second helping of David Tennant Good Omens is so much fun! And, don’t forget Harry Bosch and there are numerous seasons to keep you occupied!
Perhaps you can look at this time as A Little Respite and Michelle has some excellent suggestions to settle yourself.
Beatrice Perron Dahlen’s Heron Island has just been released to the public and it is on sale until Sunday! (no code necessary, discount taken when you purchase it!)
If you are in need of something Lopi…Álafoss has yarn on deep sale with cheap shipping rates right now!
